The Consumer Product Safety Commission's February 2, 2017 fireworks proposal contained a precise distinction: an unchanged numerical limit could be paired with a new identification requirement. The commission proposed retaining the two-grain limit on the relevant pyrotechnic composition while specifying which composition would identify a device as subject to that limit under its fireworks regulations. [2017-02014][2016-21014]

The existing rules did not prescribe a particular identification method, according to the agency. Making one method mandatory would therefore create a new requirement. The commission also expected the proposed approach to identify more devices as subject to the limit than its current testing-manual method, with more devices considered banned as a practical consequence. [2017-02014][2016-21014]

That explanation differed from the September 6, 2016 proposed interpretation. The earlier notice used metallic powder in a device's burst charge to interpret intent to produce audible effects and said obligations would remain unchanged. Reading the documents together shows a distinction between an interpretive approach and a proposal to prescribe a method; neither document supplies independent corroboration of the other's expected benefits. [2017-02014][2016-21014]

As of February 9, the February amendments were a proposal, not a final rule. The two-grain quantity was not two grams, a package-weight ceiling or a universal limit for every device. The core issue was the set of products captured by a classification method. A stable number alone could not establish stable regulatory coverage, much less a measured improvement in safety. [2017-02014][2016-21014]

Source documents

  1. Amendments to Fireworks Regulationshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-02-02/html/2017-02014.htm
  2. Statement of Policy on the Commission's Interpretation of Intent To Produce Audible Effects Within the Meaning of the Commission's Fireworks Regulations Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Acthttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-06/html/2016-21014.htm